In this Article we look at the contenders for PROPS at the Southern Kings 2013 Super Rugby group.

It is extremely difficult to pre-judge the Southern Kings and the performance we could expect from them, hell it is even difficult to get full player particulars of the players who are squad contenders in many instances, so here it goes.. warts and all.

The Contenders:

Name: Jaco Engels:

Position Prop Height 1.86 Weight 118 Date of Birth 17 December 1980 Place of Birth Oranjemund, Namibia Provincial Debut 2003 Leopards Provincial Caps 157 Provincial Points 50 Super Rugby Debut 2006 for the Bulls Super Rugby Caps 40 Super Rugby Points 10 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

This journeyman prop is one of the Southern Kings most experienced players.

The question has to be asked though whether he still has the mettle for top-flight rugby and I guess that question will be answered in 2013.

He has previously played for the Leopards, Boland Cavaliers and Blue Bulls in South Africa’s Currie Cup. He has also played Super Rugby with the Bulls. He joined the Eastern Province Kings in 2011.

He is also eligible to play for Namibia, but did not play in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Name: Schalk Jakobus Petrus (Schalk) Ferreira:

Position Prop Height 1.88 Weight 111 kg Date of Birth 9 February 1984 Place of Birth Pretoria Provincial Debut 2005 for Western Province Provincial Caps 50 Provincial Points 10 Super Rugby Debut 2007 for the Stormers Super Rugby Caps 14 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

Schalk Ferreira represented South Africa both at Under 19 and Under 21 level, in 2003 and 2004 respectively, coming through the ranks of the Western Province youth sides from 1999 to 2005.

He played for Western Province from 2005 to 2009, had a brief cameo for Boland in 2009 and made a short comeback for Western Province in 2012 after coming back from a serios neck injury in 2009.

This is another Kings player with Super Rugby experience having played for the Stormers between 2007 to 2009, earning 14 Super Rugby caps in the process.

He had now joined the Eastern Province Kings on a two-month trial during the 2012 Currie Cup First Division. This turned into a permanent deal and he is also in the Southern Kings squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season.

Schalk is a product of Paul Roos Gymnasium.

Name: Ross Geldenhuys:

Position Prop Height 1.89 Weight 120 kg Date of Birth 19 April 1983 Place of Birth Cape Town Provincial Debut 2005 for the Border Bulldogs Provincial Caps 62 Provincial Points 25 Super Rugby Debut 2008 for the Lions Super Rugby Caps 19 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

A tighthead prop and a product of St Andrews College, Ross played for the Mighty Elephants Under 19 and Under 21 in 2002, for Western Province Under 20 in 2003 and then played for the Border Bulldogs in 2005.

In 2006 he was back at Western Province where he played some ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division rugby.

In 2007 he went to the Pumas and in 2008 he started playing Super Rugby for the Auto & General Lions after joining the Golden Lions.

Hell, he even went to the Vodacom Blue Bulls for a very short while in 2009, before returning to the Lions for 2010 and 2011.

That was not the end of his travels, in 2012 he started playing for Boland Kavaliers, then the Griffons and ended up playing ABSA Currie Cup Rugby for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in 2012.

Having now moved to the EP Kings, he is already at his 9th Provincial Union.

I do not know of another professional player who has prostituted himself to different Unions more than Ross Geldenhuys, definately no family of mine!

Ross is just another journeyman prop, nothing to be too excited about and he certainly does not scare the opposition.

Name: Kevin Buys:

Position Prop Height 1.91 Weight 120 Date of Birth 26 April 1986 Place of Birth Benoni Provincial Debut 2007 for the Blue Bulls Provincial Caps 51 Provincial Points 0 Super Rugby Debut 2010 for the Lions Super Rugby Caps 13 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He started his playing career at the Blue Bulls as a youth player. In 2007, he made his debut in the Vodacom Cup competition. He then moved to French club CA Brive in November 2007. He played in the Espoirs (their reserve team), but graduated to the first team. He made 15 appearances for the team in the 2007 – 2008 Top 14 season. He just made a further five appearances for the team the following season, three of those in the 2008  2009 European Challenge Cup.

He then returned to South Africa and joined the Golden Lions team in 2009. He played for them in the domestic Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions, as well as for the Lions in the Super Rugby competition. At the start of 2012, he linked up with the Eastern Province Kings.

Name: Charl Francois (Charl) du Plessis:

Position Prop Height 1.87 Weight 113 Date of Birth 8 April 1987 Place of Birth Cape Town Provincial Debut 2008 v SWD Eagles Provincial Caps 57 Provincial Points 0 Super Rugby Debut Super Rugby Caps 0 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He represented the Golden Lions at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 level before being included in their 2008 Vodacom Cup squad, making his debut against SWD Eagles. He made a total of 7 appearances for the Golden Lions in this competition, but never made their Currie Cup squad. In 2009, he also had a short spell at the Falcons, making 8 appearances. He also featured regularly in the Varsity Cup, playing for UJ in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In 2010, he moved to the Boland Cavaliers, where he played for two seasons, before moving to the Eastern Province Kings for the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season.

In the wider Super Rugby training group we also find Lizo Gqoboka.

Starters:

I suppose that Jaco Engels, Schalk Ferreira and Ross Geldenhuys will be the premier props for the Southern Kings, with Kevin Buys getting some game time too. With the uncertainty regarding the foreign element of players in the Southern Kings one can certainly also not rule out regular game time for some or other foreigner.

The next Article in the range will deal with the Southern Kings hookers.